Well, let me explain that to you: 1. With Miami the thinking now usually is: we need a big 3 to compete. And it certainly can`t hurt to have 3 stars as any of them can go off any given night and other teams can`t double anyone. 2. If we can get another star we don`t need a C, SG or SF since those positions are set. PG may be a waste since one of HArdens biggest strength is him handling the ball. So that leaves PF, which also happens to be by far our worst position. 3. Stars are usually great on offense - we don`t necessary need another star guard with Harden capable of scoring at will. But Howard is more of a defensive star, that scores purely with his strength/athleticism. Getting a real scorer here might help. But I actually agree with you - with 3 stars usually one ends up not really playing at a star level anymore, since there aren`t that many balls to go around. With Howard and Harden we could finish the team with, let`s call them ultimate role players. Parsons is one of those. Now we would need a PG that can defend and hit his shots - let`s say a guy like Lowry. And a PF like that, let`s say Millsap. Those 3 ultimate role players would work and probably not even hit the luxary threshold. So in theory we could still add a legitimate scorer of the bench with our MLE next season... and this well rounded team might very well have a better shot at winnig it all, that just the trio of Harden, Howard, Aldridge/Love and a bunch of scrubs...
I definitely believe that Parsons could be our third star. Not only is he getting better but dude is clutch when the tough gets going, the truest indication of potential stardom.
Here's the thing about having a big 3. The ones that won a championship only had one star big man and 2 star perimeter players. Miami has Wade and LeBron... Boston had Paul, Allen, and Rondo... San Antonio has Manu and Parker. I'm not opposed to bringing in a third star player but I believe it should be at the 3 or 1 spot. Whoever they bring in at the 4 will be delegated to being a spot up perimeter shooter to clear the paint for Howard since he can't play away from the basket and the only star power forwards out there that are actually worth paying to do that is Dirk and KG.
Dont forget that we do not want to interupt team chemistry. If we land a player like Aldridge, what does that do to Hardens touches? Parsons touches? Whatabout our flow of the game? We dont really need to alter much with Dwight. He only takes 12-14 shots a game to get his 20 or so a night. But now you tack in ANOTHER guy who needs 15+ shots on top of Howard addition and your looking at a full year of just working chemistry out IMO. I like it exactly how we have it. Harden controls all the offense. Dwight gets the dirty work done offensively in the paint with put backs, slams, and pick and rolls. Not to mention his 10+ free throws a game. And i love having the wild card offensive threat in Parsons. He compliments James and Dwight so perfectly, i couldnt even ask for a better option next to those two guys without totally crushing our chemistry. He can slash. He can dish. He can get to the bucket. And he can hit threes at a good clip. Not to metion he shot like 48 % from the field... Quit sleeping on Parsons people...he is our third option...and a mighty fine one at that. All we need (if tjones doesnt pan out) is a veteran 4 who can score 10-12 points a game, grab 8 boards, and hit a 15 ft jumpshot to open things up for dwight. And some championship exp would be nice...think KG.
In all fairness, i dont think parsons is ready yet to be considered our third star. He had a great season yes, but i think Lins inconsistency took some of the attention away from the dead streak that parsons had for quite a few games. The third star that we get needs to be like harden and D12, even if they have off games they still find ways to score and contribute. Harden more so, harden had some really bad games but looking at the basic stats you wouldn't be able to tell because he still found ways to score and help the team.
Actually no they didn't. Howard's Magic team made the finals in 2009. That was Ryan Anderson's rookie year and he was playing with New Jersey that season. Rashard Lewis was the starting PF for the 2009 Magic team and Lewis made the all-star team that season. Anderson's first season in Orlando was 2010.
You're right. They lost to Boston the next year with Anderson. To me that shows Howard will do better with a stretch 4 and we may have that with TJ and D-Mo (or even Omri). If not, Ersan Ilyasova may be a great fit if the Bucks are willing to part with him. I just don't think it's necessary to bring in a high priced power forward like LMA to stand on the perimeter and jack 3's. Maybe Love can do it... But he's subject to trip over something and hurt himself and be out for the season.
Rashard Lewis was still playing the bulk of the pf minutes (36.6) minutes in 2010. Anderson played less than 10 minutes per game in the 2010 playoffs.
i'll keep saying it. parsons is it. pay him now and save 8 million. the three star system is overrated. We can already score at will, that was before harden and dwight. What we need is defensive effort at the four. Let the nba 2k13s and those who love names want their 3rd star. But how did bosh fair in the playoffs? we must worry about D and finding players that were crazy good in the past but now are serviceable role players working for cheap, like your eddie johnsons or ray allens.
You can take one thing to the bank, Les does not want to see Parsons explode after being traded. He was not a happy camper after Lin slipped through their fingers, and he's going to be very concerned about that happening again.
For those of you saying we still need a third star... http://bbs.clutchfans.net/showpost.php?p=7967368&postcount=2 They usually only pick stars, right?
